U of A Moves Up Slightly in Overall U.S. News "Best Colleges 2018" Rankings

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas is tied for 63rd place among public universities, and tied for 133rd place among all national universities in the U.S. News and World Report “Best Colleges 2018” rankings.

The university moved up slightly in the new rankings compared to last year, when Arkansas was ranked in a tie for 64th among public universities and 135th for public and private national universities.

“While it’s true the rankings are an indicator of how we are perceived by our peers and one of tools parents and prospective students use for gaining insight into a university’s quality, they only tell part of the story,” said Chancellor Joseph E. Steinmetz. “Our mission is to serve a wide range of students from a variety of financial backgrounds and high school experiences. We can’t lose sight of that, or the real impact a student gains through learning, problem solving and creativity, civic leadership and service. I am confident our rankings will rise because we are paying attention to retention, graduation rates and other measures of student success, which are where our priorities lie, and which also comprise a significant part of the rankings.

“I think the academic strategic plan that we launched yesterday demonstrates that we are focused on improvement – in areas such as student success, graduation and retention rates and recruiting and keeping excellent faculty, to name a few. Our goal is to make the University of Arkansas the best it has ever been, to fulfill our land-grant mission to serve the people and the state of Arkansas.”

The U of A again showed improvement in the category of “Best Colleges for Veterans,” moving from 90th place to 83rd. The university has been devoting additional resources for the past decade to actively recruit and welcome veterans, providing both financial and academic support.

Additionally, the Sam M. Walton College of Business remained among the top 30 public business schools in the nation for the 15th year in a row, tied for 27th among public and 45th among public and private business colleges.

U.S. News and World Report also ranked the university as one of its “Best Value Schools.” The ranking takes into account a school's academic quality and net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better “value” provided. The U of A was listed as the nation’s 132nd best value among private and public universities.